Stammering, Stuttering, and Struggling
by Midnight Auroua
Summary: And here he thought that after he and Starfire kissed in Tokyo, he could finally face his alien girlfriend without being reduced to a stuttering and blushing pile of traffic light colored teenage hormonal goo. For one of the world's greatest detectives, this was rather dense of Robin.
1. Awkward

**Um...hi. **

**For those of you who don't know me...hola! I'm Midnight and this is my first ever Teen Titans story. It'll be a few chapters long, I haven't decided how many yet. Updated sporadically. If you have ideas, I'm always open to hear them. I can use as many awkward moments between Rob and Star as I can get. **

**Now, uh, for the people who do know me, I know I have a weeeeee bit of explaining to do. Skip on down to the bottom of the story for that. Otherwise, onward to the story!"**

**XXXXX**

Now, Robin would be the first to admit that even though he was the son of the infamous Dark Knight, one of the world's greatest detectives, and the fearless leader of the Teen Titans, when it came to Starfire... Well, fearless leader or not, being around Starfire made him a little awkward.

Maybe a lot awkward.

And everyone thought that once they finally kissed in Tokyo, the awkward sexual tension between the two lovebird Titans would have pretty much disappeared. Even Robin thought everything would be better. Somehow, he thought after the kiss, just the sight of Starfire and her smile would no longer cause him to become a stuttering, blushing, pile of traffic light colored teenage hormonal goo.

For one of the world's greatest detectives, this was rather dense of him.

But the Boy Wonder quickly learned that things would remain wonderfully, deliciously awkward, a shared kiss or not.

XXXXX

"Robin, may I speak with you?"

The problem with having a girlfriend who floated rather than walked was that it was so easy for her to sneak up on him. He couldn't hear her footsteps. And when Starfire floated soundlessly into his office, closing the door behind her, he was surprised. More surprised than his usual surprise. He damn near toppled backward out of his chair. He righted himself quickly and swiveled around to face her. She was floating an inch or two above the ground, her hands clasped delicately in front of her, her shoulder back and back straight.

She looked like she was ready to give a big speech.

Robin would like to pretend that he didn't know what she could want, but he _was_ one of the world's greatest detectives. And he may or may not have been avoiding her ever since they got back from Tokyo. He may or may not have locked himself away in his office, claiming he had paperwork ("So much paperwork, Star!" he had yelled empathically before not-so-smoothly slamming the door shut). So he may or may not have known why Starfire was in his office, looking like she had a presentation on all the reasons he was an idiot.

He may or may not deserve it.

She probably wanted to talk about why he was avoiding her.

"What's up, Star?" he asked after clearing his throat a few times.

"I wish to know why you have been avoiding me," she said simply.

"Uh…."

"I know that I am still becoming familiar with Earthen courtship formalities," she began primly, "and that while we were in Tokyo, we never truly laid out exactly what sort of relationship we would be having. However, I was under the perhaps mistaken impression that following our…." She blushed and Robin's heart did this weird flippy thing in his chest. "Lip contact, we would be engaging in the typical Earthen boyfriend and girlfriend behavior. This behavior includes—at least I believe it does—us interacting with each other. As we did as friends but now incorporating more romantic traits too. Things like you not spending many hours in your office locked away doing the paperwork and more…."

Her blush deepened and Robin felt his knees shake. He hoped she wouldn't notice. If she didn't notice, he could keep noticing her blush.

"More lip contact," she finished quietly. Her eyes dipped down to the floor for a long moment or two before she lifted them back to Robin. "Would you please tell me if my perception is wrong? And why have you been avoiding me?"

"Uh…."

He would like to, but words failed him. Basic motor functions failed him. Brain power failed him. He could only think of one thing to say.

"Uh…."

Starfire tilted her head. "Robin?"

"Uh…." He blinked one hard time and attempted to pull it together. He had to explain himself. "Uh."

She looked at him patiently. Floated a little closer to him, remained silent, and waited for more.

As mentioned, words failed him around Starfire. That had always been the issue whenever she was near and asking him questions involving his…_feelings_. Robin blanched at the thought of expressing his _feelings_. He blamed some of this on the fact he was a teenage boy and teenage boys did not talk about feelings with ease. But mostly he blamed the man who put him in cape and mask and taught him to punch his feelings out into bad guys.

Goddamn Batman.

Punching his feeling away worked well enough when he and Starfire weren't a…whatever they currently were (excluding incidents where they were stranded on an alien planet). But now he had to be emotionally available. He had to express his thoughts.

He hadn't been thinking about that when she kissed him in the rain. But then really, he wasn't really thinking about much when Starfire was kissing him. Because _Starfire was kissing him_.

When he patrolled the streets, he was able to sort his thoughts. He could pull them together and organize and sort them and they made sense. Everyone liked to rag on him and Batman for brooding, but there was something so…calming about standing on the ledge of building, staring down at the citizens he protected while his cape billowed behind him dramatically in the wind.

It also looked like, _mad _cool.

But now, words failed him. And all he could do was stutter awkwardly.

So very awkwardly.

"I'm not…exactly…good at this," he told her, rubbing the back of his neck. A nervous tic that only made itself known when he was in the ruby haired alien girl's presence.

"What do you mean?"

"Your uh, perception of how relationship are supposed to work is not wrong. I'm just…." He struggled to find the words. "I'm not…" He defaulted to his go to word. "Uh."

"Not very good at this?" she offered generously.

"Yes!" he yelled enthusiastically. He clapped his hands together, startling her a little. "I'm awful at this!"

Her brow furrowed in concern.

"Wait! No, it's not like that. I just can't…"

He sighed.

He wanted to tell her that he adored her. He was mad about her. He felt…big feelings for her. Feelings too big for him to want to think about lest he scare himself more.

And that was the problem: Robin was scared. Scared to screw this up before it had a chance to begin. He was no knight in shining armor. He had flaws. Glaring ones. He had concerns. There were so many things. Feelings. Things he needed to lay bare.

Only he didn't know how to lay feelings bare. She had been merciful enough to pretty tell him to shut up and kiss her in Tokyo so he didn't have to do it then, but that couldn't be the solution to all of their problems.

(Even though it would be so awesome if it was.)

He knew he needed to talk to her. Avoiding her was not the answer. But screaming "Paperwork!" was much easier than…_feelings_.

"I've never done anything like this before, Star," he admitted after several very long, very painful seconds of opening and closing his mouth, hoping words would come out. "I like you so much but I'm kind of scared. I don't want to screw this up. I like you too much to do that."

She smiled sweetly at that. It made him feel a little better.

"I'll probably mess this up before either one of us has any clue what went wrong," he finished honestly and in his opinion, a little lamely.

Starfire's smile widened. She began to close the distance between them. He could feel a sweat building on his brow and his heartbeat kicked up a couple more notches. He wanted to run away and then at the same time, he was so excited to see her growing nearer. She hesitated once she stood before him. They both seemed to be waiting for the other to do something. To initiate something.

Since Robin had been the one who had been so reclusive, he decided he should be the one to open up first. So he opened his arms for her in an obvious invitation. Timidly, Starfire perched herself on his knee. He was glad that she didn't settle herself on his lap.

He was very disappointed that she did not settle herself on his lap.

Stupid conflicting feelings….

And now the coherent thought that he was just starting to get back went bye-bye because now he could feel her nearness. Feel her warmth on his skin. Smell her hair.

She smelled quite pretty.

"I have more faith in you than that, boyfriend Robin," she murmured, giving him a look. This was a new look, one he had never seen. This look was all half lidded eyes, a tilt of the head, and a look on her face that Robin could not quite describe but it made him feel…funny. A good funny. Made him realize that maybe feelings weren't all terrible.

"I'll probably be a little overbearing," he warned her and she leaned down closer to him.

Starfire giggled. "I am afraid to inform you that shall be nothing new."

He made a face at her. "Funny," he deadpanned.

"You are nervous, yes?"

At that exact moment, Robin was praying that she could not hear his heart pounding in his chest or feel the sweat on his palms. So "nervous" was being _quite _generous. "I um…you could…uh…." He forced a weak smile for her. "Yes. A little. You could say that."

She dropped her gaze then. Her fingers fiddled nervously with the edges of her skirt. He felt pleased when he saw her skin heat up once more with a blush. It was nice to know that he was not the only one struggling here.

"I too am nervous," she admitted after a lengthy pause. "I have never felt for a boy as I have for you. Nor have I any experience with romance."

He considered that for a moment before he ventured to reach over and tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. A simple task, yet he managed to somehow tangle a strand of her ruby locks around his fingers and tug on it a bit too hard.

"Ow," she said, sounding more surprised than hurt.

"Oh. Sorry."

She just smiled. Robin decided that he would rather not risk yanking out any of her pretty hair and instead settled his hand on her knee. He hoped she could not feel the sweat on his palms. Through his glove.

God, he was pathetic for this girl.

"I think…." He cleared his throat. "I think we'll figure something out."

She dipped her head a little lower. Robin realized that she was getting awfully close. Which probably meant that she could totally hear his pounding heart. And feel his sweaty palms. And—wait why was she getting so close.

There goes his last semblance of formulated thoughts.

"Now that we have reached an understanding, there is one last issue I would like to address." Her voice was very husky, he couldn't help but notice.

"Uh."

"You have not participated in the lip contact with me since we left Tokyo."

"Uh."

"I would very much like to change that."

"Uh." He gave another hard blink. "Okay. I can…" His cheeks were on fire. Possibly literally. "I would like that."

She dropped her head a few more inches. "Most glorious."

Robin lifted his head to kiss his girlfriend (god, he still couldn't believe it. His _girlfriend_). But his aim was off (of _course _his aim was off) and instead of meeting her lips (god, he loved her lips), their noses bumped.

Roughly.

"Ow," she said, sounding more surprised than hurt.

"Opps."

They both reached up to rub their noses.

"Sorry, Star."

She just smiled, dropping her hand. "Do not fret."

"I'm still getting the hang of this. That's the other thing. I might be a little…."

"Awkward?" she offered generously.

"Yeah, awkward."

"That is the okay."

Robin took her chin in his hand. "Don't worry," he murmured, pulling her back down. "I won't miss this time."

**XXXXX**

**I hope everyone liked it! I haven't posted anything on this site for awhile so you'll have to forgive me if I'm a little rusty. But I really like this story. I have a few other chapters already typed up and I'm really excited for those. I may just post another one or two tonight because I love feedback. **

**Now, some of you who know me from X-Men Evo are probably looking for an explanation about what happened with my still unfinished story Thigh High Boots. First, I just want to say that I'm sorry for leaving you hanging. That was pretty crappy of me and I'm really sorry. I have no excuse but I do have an explanation. There was a death in the family that seriously derailed my world. After that, there were a series of unfortunate events that kind of got me down. I lost my passion for writing for a very long time. I not only stopped writing Long Black Gloves but also the manuscript I was working on in my limited free time. It was only in the last few weeks where I picked up a pen again (so to speak). I started my book again (yay!) and I'm going back over all of my previous pieces of Evo work so I can complete the Knee High Socks series. But I've been away from Remy and Rogue for a long time, so it's going to be a minute before I can start that again. I have every intention of finishing it, but I will need time. **

**Okay. Enough of that. More chapters to come. Bear with me, guys. I'm trying here. **

**And for those of you who stuck around this long, here's a preview for the next chapter:**

_ "Is now when we commence with the mating?" Starfire asked._

_ Her skin was so soft, he thought. "Yeah." His mouth drifted back up to hers and he kissed her again. He really liked how soft she was. How she wrapped her arms around his neck and held him close. How he had to keep a tight grip on her to make sure she didn't float away because she was just so darn happy that she had trouble keep controlling of her power. He liked how her skin was always so warm and how her hair always smelled so nice and how DID SHE JUST SAY SOMETHING ABOUT MATING?_


	2. Mating

**Two chapters in one night! Thanksgiving break is coming up so I may be able to update a little more often but no promises. Not much to say. Enjoy!**

**XXXXX**

"Is this the making out?"

Robin could not stop himself from smiling dreamily. "Yeah."

"I find it most enjoyable," Starfire murmured, holding herself closer to him.

"Yeah."

He ran his fingers through her hair and pressed a kiss to a spot under her jaw she seemed quite fond of.

He was happy.

They had done a lot of talking that day in his office. Or rather, she had done a lot of talking. He had stammered, stuttered, and struggled to formulate words and string sentences together. But eventually, miraculously, they managed to talk out all of their concerns. Robin told her how he was worried about her being used against him by a villain. He told her how he was afraid he wouldn't be able to offer her all that she wanted. He warned her that he was quite awful when it came to feelings and that he would probably be difficult to deal with when things got more than a little emotional. He told her he was flawed. A little broken. He told her a lot of stuff that day in his office.

And she acknowledged all of his concerns. Listened patiently. And when he was done, she reached out and gently ran her fingers through the hair at the nape of his neck and told him that while his concerns were legitimate, he should not worry. That they would handle what came their way when it came their way.

It was such an easy answer, Robin was certain he never would have thought of it himself.

They had agreed to make no promises about their future other than the effort to try. And in the end, Robin supposed that's all they could do.

And now that _that _hurdle had been crossed, it was onward to the fun stuff.

Once he was able to kiss his girlfriend without missing her mouth or bumping her nose, he found it very easy to continue doing so. He took care to take his time to her. Starfire was familiar with the Earth concept of lip contact as a form of affection, but she had not yet experienced it. He didn't want her to feel rushed.

(He also didn't want to dive head first into something that he didn't even want to have lingering thoughts on quite yet.)

And anyway, there was so much fun to be had in lingering kisses to her mouth and nothing more. But _she _was the one who took off his gloves, unclasped his cape and kissed him when they were supposed to be doing paperwork in his room.

"Supposed" being the main word.

And when she did not pull away like she normally had, fearless leader or not, Robin was still a teenage boy and he was not about to miss out on what she would call a "most glorious opportunity." And soon enough, her neck brace lay discarded on the ground with his things. And they were sitting on his bed, kissing.

No. Actually, they were making out, as Starfire had said. And it was all kinds of awesome.

However, teenager or not, Robin was still sensible. He kissed her senseless (or maybe it was the other way around….) but he would not let things escalate any further. He was a gentleman, after all. Alfred would skin him alive if he found out he had been anything but gentlemanly to his new alien girlfriend.

Well, maybe saying Alfred would "skin him alive" was a bit of an overstatement. More accurately, the old butler would probably say something scathingly sarcastic in that deadpan tone he loved to use so much.

Same difference. Whatever.

So Robin had no intention of letting things go any farther than a good old fashion make out. And there was still so much fun to be had in making out.

"Robin?" Starfire asked on a sigh, tilting her head back to give him better access to her neck.

"Yeah."

"I have a question."

He dragged his lips lazily along her collarbone. "Yeah?"

"Is now when we commence with the mating?"

Her skin was so soft, he thought. "Yeah." His mouth drifted back up to hers and he kissed her again. He really liked how soft she was. How she wrapped her arms around his neck and held him close. How he had to keep a tight grip on her to make sure she didn't float away because she was just so darn happy that she had trouble keep controlling of her power. He liked how her skin was always so warm and how her hair always smelled so nice and how DID SHE JUST SAY SOMETHING ABOUT MATING?

"Wait, what?" he said. Or screamed. Maybe he screamed it. He wasn't trying to scream it but she looked alarmed so it was very possible he screamed.

"Mating," she repeated. "Please tell me you are familiar with the process." She gave him a look full of pity.

"Of course I am!" He was definitely screaming now. And blushing. Definitely blushing. Quieter, he added "I mean…like, not from personal experience or anything…."

"I too am in the same water vessel." Her tone was breezy but the blush on her cheeks betrayed her nonchalant tone. "But from my understanding of Earthen customs, now is when we rend off each other's clothing and mate, correct?"

And in that moment, Robin prayed for death.

Okay. Perhaps praying for death was dramatic. And while Robin was all for a dramatic flair (he was raised by Batman, the king of dramatics), he knew death was a bit excessive. Instead, he wished for the alarm to sound. He wished that Slade would burst in. He wished that Beast Boy would accidentally get his head stuck in the TV (again) and that Robin would have to get him out (again). He wished that he was teleported to another dimension where he would have to fight an alternate reality version of himself. He wished at that moment Larry decided to pop out of his forehead again and cause some chaos.

Pretty much anything would be better than having a "mating" talk with his virgin alien girlfriend.

It shouldn't have come as surprise to him. Something like this was bound to come up with Starfire sooner or later. He remembered how he should have realized this when they kissed back in Tokyo. Then he remembered that there was no chance he could have formed any thoughts while kissing Starfire, let alone having enough brain power for foresight.

Now, the only thing he wanted was for some benevolent force to open the earth and swallow him whole.

Starfire stared at him confusedly. "Robin?"

He groaned, flopping backwards on his bed and closing his eyes. "You're going to literally be the death of me, Star."

She gasped. "Literally?!"

"No. Figuratively. Sorry."

He heard her exhale in relief. Then the room was silent for several seconds. He knew she was waiting for him to say something but he hoped that maybe if he stayed quiet long enough, she would forget all about her mating question and they could just go back to a simpler time of making out on his bed.

Those were the good ol' days.

But, when after several seconds, Starfire did not smother him in kisses, he knew he had to say something. "Star...Starfire, why do you think that we should be uh, mating?" he asked, finally opening his eyes to look at her.

"That is what is done in the movies I have observed."

"What?"

She fiddled with her hair nervously. "In the movies, there are frequently two people who care quite deeply for one another but are reluctant to admit so. But eventually they manage to put aside their fears and doubts and partake in the lip contact. Following the Earthen display of affection, there is making out which is then typically followed by frantic mating in dim light." She looked at him carefully from the corner of her eye. "Thus far, our relationship has followed this exact formula, boyfriend Robin."

He groaned, deciding that his prayers for death may not have been all that dramatic after all.

"Star," he began slowly, desperately wishing he did not have to have this conversation, "we have got to show you some better movies."

She tilted her head, timidly pressing her hand to his chest. "I am the confused."

"I know." He put his hand over hers and squeezed. Awkward moment or not, he quite enjoyed the feeling of her hand enveloped in his. She was always very warm. Maybe it was all that solar power in her. He wasn't sure. He didn't care. She was warm and wonderful and soft and sweet and perfect and why oh why did they have to have the sex talk? "I'm sorry."

"Please help me understand why my preference in film needs to be improved."

He twisted his head around to look up at her. "Is that where you get a lot of your understanding for Earth relationships?" She simply nodded in response. Robin's brow furrowed. "I thought Raven explained that stuff to you."

"Friend Raven and I would often speak of _your_ behavior," she corrected him. She was trying to look annoyed with him, but there was a small smile she was fighting to suppress. It was a fight she was losing. "You were often a major point of confusion for me and she offered assistance where she could. However, her patience is somewhat limited in regards to all things romantic. I did not wish to burden her with my questions in regards to the…." She scrunched up her nose as she tried to think of the phrase. "Entrances and exits of Earth relationships."

"You mean 'the ins and outs,'" Robin corrected without thought.

"I thank you." She smiled just long enough for it to fade. "I still do not understand why we are not mating."

He longed for death's sweet embrace.

"Starfire. Star." Robin didn't even know where to begin. He propped himself up on his elbows so that he could better see her face. "We aren't going to mate."

The moment the words left his mouth, her entire expression dropped. She looked dejected. As if he had just verbally slapped her with an earth shattering insult.

"You do not wish to mate with me?" Her voice was small. Sad. Robin rushed to backtrack.

"No, that's not what I mean at all!"

"Then why do you not desire to mate with me?"

"Trust me. I _do _desire to mate with you, Star." He stared at the ceiling dazedly, letting his thoughts get the better of him. "Like…I really do. I think about it a lot. More than I would like to admit. In fact I…uh, wait."

He looked back at his girlfriend, whose cheeks were on fire with a blush but a tiny smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. Which was nice, since she was feeling better. What wasn't so great was that he had just admitted that he spent way too much time thinking about mating with his girlfriend.

"Uh." He swallowed audibly. "Sorry."

She didn't say anything in turn. Her blush only burned a little brighter and she tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. He waited a few moments, thinking perhaps that some deity up there would be forgiving and something like—oh, he didn't know—Wonder Girl crashing the invisible jet into the tower after taking it from her Amazonian sister for another joy ride with Batgirl and Supergirl. An invisible jet full of super heroine best friends would most definitely get him out of this conversation.

But Robin was not so lucky.

So he sighed, flopping back on his back. But this time, he took hold of Starfire's hand and pulled her down with him. The alien pressed her chin to his chest to look at him while he spoke, that adorably curious look on her face.

"What was it like on Tameran?"

"Mating?" She shrugged airily. "I would imagine the process is most likely very similar to how Earthlings do it."

Robin chuckled, smoothing the bangs from her face. "No, I mean like…. You know how on Earth, besides in those movies you watch, it can be kind of a taboo subject?"

She nodded.

"Was it like that on Tameran?"

She shook her head. "Oh no, my people are much more open about it. Tameraneans are very open about our sexuality and bodies. We mated not long after our puberty and it was not uncommon to have many partners before we did the settling down with a monogamous mate for life." Her eyes dipped down to her boyfriend's chest shyly. "I had very little time for potential mates and then I was sold to the Gordanians before coming to Earth. Afterward, I was most content to follow the standards of your people." She titled her head. "Does my lack of experience make me less desirable?"

He pressed a lingering kiss to her forehead. "I can't think of anything that could make you less desirable."

"Yes." Her smile grew mischievous. "I am now aware of that."

He tried to distract her from his red cheeks by making a faux frown. "Cut it out."

"I do not have any scissors in which to cut anything." Her grin was only growing.

"You think you're funny."

"Perhaps a little. But we should continue this discussion as to why you do not wish to mate with me at this current time when that is the Earth norm."

"It's not."

"It is not?"

"No, it isn't, Star."

"But the movies—"

"Are just that. They're movies. We don't have to follow their standards, just ours." Robin was the one to tilt his head this time. "Are you ready to um, mate with me?"

It was such a relief to see _her _stumbling over her words this time. "I would, uh…I would not be opposed to the idea. It does sound rather…erm." She dropped her gaze from his. "Pleasant."

Yes. Robin suddenly found himself quite pleased with this conversation.

"I have no doubt that it'd be pleasant—"

Pleasant, was putting it lightly.

"—but I want to know if you're ready," he probed.

She shrugged. "Perhaps. Maybe. I am unsure."

"Me too."

"Truly?"

He chuckled again. "Truly."

"So then how are we to proceed?"

He shrugged this time. "Let's just take her time. We don't have to follow the standards of your people or my people's movies. Let's just do what we want."

"I think I quite like that idea," she whispered, her eyelids dropping as she gave him _that _look again. This new what that made him feel funny things. But pleasantly funny things. "Does that mean we will never mate?"

"Not necessarily. We can do it if we want. When we want. There isn't any rush." He gave her a very serious look, wanting her to understand that he meant what he said. "I don't want to mess this up, Star."

"Nor do I."

"Okay." He smiled.

She smiled back. "Okay." But then a frown was creasing her brow soon after. "But what are we to do until we are ready to mate?"

Robin decided that since he had just managed to have the sex talk with his virgin alien girlfriend, he could probably be a little bold afterward. So he rolled so that she was on her back and he was hovering over her. He liked seeing her hair spread out all over his pillows. He liked seeing her in his bed, but really, after all that they had just talked about, he was going to try to keep those thoughts far out of his head. Nice and far. Far, far, far away.

"There's still a lot of fun to be had in making out," he told her, his voice rougher than it was a few seconds earlier.

For a second, Robin _swore _she purred. He was almost certain she did. But he convinced himself that she didn't because if she really just _purred _then all that stuff he said about waiting to mate would be taken back too quickly for his liking.

"I like that," she murmured, tugging him a little closer. "However, I desire to know one last thing."

"Yeah?" he asked distractedly, already returning to that spot on her neck they both seemed so very fond of.

"Just how frequent are those thoughts you have about us mating?" she asked, a teasing smile in her voice.

Truly, death was a welcome relief. If only Robin were so lucky.

**XXXXX**

**And here's the preview for the next chapter: **

_No one in Jump knew any of that. He was a hero in a mask and he liked it that way. They could not pity the hero in the mask. They wouldn't see him as weak. As an imposter who only pretended to be strong._  
_ Not to mention, the mask was mad cool._  
_ But Starfire was different._  
_ Robin did not necessarily want to take it off for her. But the idea of doing so did not bother him. Some days, it sounded kind of appealing._  
_ So when her fingers began to itch to take it off, he neither encouraged nor denied her. He was willing to play this one by ear._  
_ This would prove to be a mistake._


	3. Mask

**This is one of my favorites so far! I'm quite fond of this chapter so I hope you enjoy it. And thanks so much for the reviews. I appreciate the feedback. **

**XXXXX**

He couldn't exactly say he was surprised. When she kissed him, her fingers danced at the corners of his mask. When they were alone, she seemed to touch the fabric that hid his eyes almost subconsciously.

It didn't take a genius to know she wanted to take off his mask. Even Robin, who could be rather clueless when it came to Starfire was not _that_ clueless.

And it wasn't like he was opposed to taking it off for her. The prospect didn't exactly thrill him though. He liked his mask. Back in Gotham, the few who knew who Robin was without the mask _knew_ him. And yeah, it was nice to have a select few who knew and understood him.

But that also meant there were a select few who _knew and understood_ him. It had nothing to do with his usual dramatic, teenage-y, brooding angst and more to do with vulnerability.

If someone knew both sides to Robin, that left him a little more vulnerable in an emotional sense than he liked.

In Jump, no one knew. To the citizens and even his teammates, he was Robin. End of story. No one knew the orphaned circus boy. No one knew his tragedy. No one knew of his sadness and his struggles. No one knew that despite the training and fighting and the gadgets and his many capabilities, beneath it all he was a sad child who lost his parents.

They didn't know about his life as a millionaire's ward. The relationship with Bruce that was so complex even he scarcely understood it. A strange mix of resentment and the desire to prove himself to Bruce. To make him proud.

No one in Jump knew any of that. He was a hero in a mask and he liked it that way. They could not pity the hero in the mask. They wouldn't see him as weak. As an imposter who only pretended to be strong.

Not to mention, the mask was mad cool.

But Starfire was different.

Robin did not necessarily want to take it off for her. But the idea of doing so did not bother him. Some days, it sounded kind of appealing. So when her fingers began to itch to take it off, he neither encouraged nor denied her. He was willing to play this one by ear.

This would prove to be a mistake.

It was a dark night. The Titans had been out all day, fighting one criminal after the next. It was nonstop. Robin was certain that once they were finally able to turn in for the night, Starfire would want to curl up in her bed and call it a night.

But she showed up in his room.

Sometimes they shared a bed. It was understood that no mating would be happening. So it was nice. Sometimes they talked. Some nights they just went to sleep.

And then there were nights like tonight.

He _thought _she would just want to sleep. But she seemed, after her long day of crime fighting, to want to be close to him. Robin discovered it was pretty nice.

She pressed her bodies into his, one hand curled in his hair and the other exploring his torso with a new boldness. He couldn't say he minded in the least. Her fingers tentatively exploring the contours of his stomach and chest under his shirt was far from and unpleasant feeling.

It also meant he could be a little bold too. He'd been working very hard at suppressing his desire to get to second base but hey, if she was touching his chest then maybe he could get to hers.

That was his hope, anyway.

So they kissed in his bed. And his fingers very slowly inched their way up her body. He vaguely noticed hers leaving his hair and sliding over to his mask.

He let her.

And when he felt her fingers take hold of the mask gently, he did not stop her.

And when she slowly began to pull the mask away, he did not stop her.

He should have stopped her.

He was so busy with trying to calm himself to the fact that she was going to take off his mask (while also being _acutely_ aware his hand was crazy stupid close to her boob) that Robin forgot something important.

And Starfire, emboldened by the fact he was not stopping her, seemed to have decided to hurry the process along before he changed his mind.

The same moment Robin remembered the adhesive that kept the mask on his face was the same moment Starfire tried to yank it off.

Tried.

That evening, the other Titans were awoken by a very brief but very loud howl of pain that sounded very much like Robin followed by something that could only be described as a Tameranean expletive.

No one desired to find out what was wrong. The next day, no one asked. They were quite sure if they did not want to know.

But meanwhile in the fearless leader's room, he held his hands over his masked face while he rolled around on his bed in pain. He vaguely heard the sound of Starfire's distress, but it was all secondary to his pain.

"Robin. Oh X'hal." Her hands flitted over him. He just continued to roll around. "I am truly the sorry! I had no clue the mask was an attachment of your face!" She swore again. Robin's eyes began to water. "Have foolish of me to attempt to remove a portion of your face! You must forgive my ignorance!"

He was pretty sure he lost some eyebrow hair.

Robin drew in a deep breath and finally dropped his hands. He was certain that the skin around his eyes was red and maybe a little swollen. It certainly hurt like a bitch.

"No, Star, it's okay." He reached for her hand, struggling to see through the tears building up behind his mask. Just to show her he was not mad, he pressed her hand to his (still aching) face. "It's okay, I swear."

She did not look convinced.

"It's my fault really," he insisted.

"How can you blame yourself for my attempted face removal?"

He couldn't help it; he chuckled. He'd never tire of her. "It's not a part of my face."

"Truly?" She sounded skeptical.

"Truly." He pressed a kiss to her palm. "I keep an adhesive on it. To make sure that someone just can't rip it off if I'm caught off guard. And so it doesn't come off if I sweat or get wet. But it's just a mask, I swear."

She seemed to consider this for a very long time. Then she giggled. Robin grinned at her, trying to ignore the throbbing pain.

"What?" he asked, tugging her a little closer again.

"I had always suspected that your mask was literally apart of you. When it did not come off, I feared my suspicions were a reality."

He laughed too. It finally was enough to make her smile again. "No, it comes off."

"Then..." She trailed off, biting her lip nervously.

The mood instantly sobered. "Then what?"

"Then may I still be permitted to remove it," she finished quietly. Very quietly.

"Oh." He swallowed then forced himself to smile. "Yeah. Uh, of course."

"Truly?"

"Truly." With a false bravado, he pointed to a drawer on the other side of his room. "In that top drawer, that's a spray in there. It will get the mask off. Painlessly," he added with a more genuine smile.

In a blink, she had flown to the other side of the room and was ruffling through his drawer looking for the spray. Robin was so busy trying to still his fast beating heart to really be bothered by the fact he had just allowed Starfire to go through one of his drawers.

He watched her float back to his bed, where he sat waiting for her. She sat before her, the spray in her right hand. She looked at it, then him. "May I?"

He couldn't make himself say the words. He wasn't positive. But he was unwilling to say no either. So he nodded. And she used the spray.

He could always feel the stickiness of the adhesive fade away. The mask would feel limp against his skin. With a nod, he confirmed she was good to go.

She was infinitely gentle this time. Peeled it away in a manner that was so slow, it felt torturous.

Then it was gone.

Robin held his breath waiting for her response.

"Boyfriend Robin?"

"Yeah."

"I am unable to see your eyes if they are closed." She stroked a finger along his brow, something he didn't know would feel so nice until she'd actually done it.

He chuckled nervously. "Right. Sorry."

With one last breath, he opened his eyes.

Looking at her was always a delight. But the moment their eyes met was something new.

It was like seeing the sun for the first time.

He may not have been certain about it in the time leading up to his mask being taken off, but then his eyes saw hers unmarred by black and white fabric and he knew it was worth it.

And the look on her face was worth it. The way she glowed from the inside out. He'd seen her a million times. He had the details of her face memorized. And yet, with the mask gone, it seemed new.

For a moment, Robin considered peeling away his every layer and revealing his every secret and nuance just so he could keep basking in her glow. The impulse only lasted a moment, though. Then he immediately went back to being mysteriously angst ridden.

It was like, his thing.

But something inside him, deep down (way down) considered the possibility that if he let her know him through and through, a little bit at a time, it might just be a worthwhile endeavor. Mysterious angst be damned.

It wouldn't be so bad, he realized, if she knew him beyond the mask. Beyond just being Robin.

Because it was so nice even if the skin around his eyes was red and stinging like a burn to truly be face to face with her. It was nice despite the fact his eyes were probably red and definitely watering. It was worth it, even if that meant he may or may not have lost some eyebrow hair in the attempted mask removal.

He realized she was worth so much. And God or Buddha or X'hal or whoever knew that Robin would never be able to express this with words.

But he liked to imagine that she could see it in his eyes.

Starfire lifted her hand to touch his face. Her thumb gently stroked the burning skin under his eye. "They are blue," she whispered. More to herself than him, he thought.

He shrugged a bit awkwardly, lost for words. "Yeah."

She leaned forward, never taking her eyes off his. "I knew it," she murmured just before kissing him.

**XXXX**

**I hope you liked it. Please send in your reviews, they are my lifeblood. **

**And finally, your preview for the next chapter: **

_If __**she**__ had bothered with conversation, he wouldn't have been left to his thoughts. And if he hadn't been left to his thoughts, he wouldn't have come to a revelation that left him hyperventilating. And if he hadn't started hyperventilating, she wouldn't be worried._  
_ So really, she had no one to blame but herself._  
_ "Robin, what is wrong with you!"_  
_ Everything. Nothing._  
_ This was a disaster._


	4. Love

**Hi, guys. I really appreciate all of the reviews. I read each and every one and I can't tell you how much I adore them. Thanks for everyone who favorited or reviewed. Those things are what keep me going. **

**You're so good to me.**

**Anyway, let's just get on to this chapter. Enjoy and thanks again!**

**XXXXX**

"Robin?" She sounded alarmed. "Robin, what is wrong?"

So much was wrong. And everything was right at the same time.

Perhaps Robin should explain.

Long before he and Starfire became a couple, the roof had always been their spot. Everyone knew.

Seriously. Robin was pretty certain every Titan and Batman himself knew. _Everyone _knew.

And after he and Starfire became a couple, the time on the roof became sacred. She would go up to bask in the fading rays of that day's sun before nighttime consumed them. Then they would enjoy the stars and moonlight before eventually heading in for bed.

Some nights, they talked. Others they enjoyed the sound of the ocean and waves lapping on the shore below them. And sometimes they kissed and did all that cute coupley stuff that if anyone besides Starfire knew about, it would do damage to his reputation that he could never repair.

Sometimes, he couldn't believe what this girl was doing to him.

But on this particular night, none of the usual things went on. On this night, a Starfire looked increasingly panicked while Robin struggled for air.

"Robin! Robin, what is the matter? Are you unable to breathe? Should I get friend Raven?"

God, he really hoped she didn't. Unable to calm himself enough to form a verbal objection, he simply shook his head.

Starfire looked absolutely mad with concern. She stared at him with wide, worried green eyes, seeming unable to find words herself. "Robin!" was all she managed to say.

They had been on the roof. The sun was down and the stars in the sky were shinning. The ocean crashed rhythmically against the shore. Starfire had sat with her knees pulled to her chest when Robin joined her. He sat down behind her and pulled her between his legs. Her back against his chest. His chin tucked between her neck and shoulder.

In that moment, he was very happy. And it was all her fault.

They sat in companionable silence. If _she_ had bothered with conversation, maybe then Robin would not have been left to his thoughts. Maybe then he wouldn't have started thinking.

He was thinking about her. Them. About how it had become a habit for him to remove his mask when they were alone in the privacy of one of their rooms. How taking off his mask used to be like pulling teeth for him but now he couldn't wait to take it off and look into her eyes.

He thought about how she so effortlessly peeled away so many of his layers. He had spent so much time building walls and then his alien girlfriend came in and broke them down with ease.

What's worse is that Robin did not find himself minding.

He didn't think twice about telling her his first name. He imagined soon enough, his past would soon be known by the princess.

If Bruce found out, a bat-bitch slap might be in his future.

And still, he didn't care. When his blue eyes met her green ones, he knew he was a lost cause from that moment forward.

So she really had no one to blame but herself.

If _she_ had bothered with conversation, maybe he wouldn't be consumed with his thoughts. Thoughts about the sweet scent of her hair and the insatiable pull of her skin.

How she had such a potent effect on him, he started thinking phrases like "the insatiable pull of her skin."

Lost cause, man. Lost cause.

If _she_ had bothered with conversation, he wouldn't be consumed in thoughts of her. Her name was woven around his every thought.

It was more than infatuation and lust. It was the way she didn't dwell on his (oh so many) faults the way he did. So much of his life was spent being told what he was doing wrong. Being reminded of his mistakes. By others and himself.

Dick, work on your balance.

You're not focused, Dick. Do it again.

It's sloppy. Do it again.

You'll never get out of his shadow.

Daddy Bat didn't train his little bird too well, did he?

You betrayed your friends.

Your anger is out of control.

You've locked yourself away.

It's your fault.

We won't forget you lied.

You let them down. You watched them fall.

Your fault.

Do it again.

Do better.

Your fault.

Your fault.

And then Starfire came and for the first time told him: it is not your fault. It is going to be the okay. It is not your fault.

Robin was certain that no matter what, he would be dark. His life would always be a part of the shadows. It was in his blood. It was who he was. Even if he got better at managing it, he was darkness.

But there was Starfire, to accept that darkness and return it with her light.

If _she_ had bothered with conversation, he wouldn't have been left to his thoughts. And if he hadn't been left to his thoughts, he wouldn't have come to a revelation that left him hyperventilating. And if he hadn't started hyperventilating, she wouldn't be worried.

So really, she had no one to blame but herself.

"Robin, what is wrong with you!"

Everything. Nothing.

This was a disaster.

Starfire shifted so that she was crouching in front of him. She gripped him by the shoulders. A bit too tightly, actually. Robin could barely breathe, let alone remind her to be mindful of her strength.

"Please, tell me why you behave in such a concerning matter!" She shook his shoulders, serving to rattle his head further. Robin blinked, trying to pull his thoughts together. Starfire only frowned, sliding her hand down to his chest. When she did, she gasped. "Your heart is beating far too quickly!"

Finally, Robin forced himself to speak. "...hrnng."

She paid his gibberish no mind, pressing the back of her hand to his forehead. "And your skin feels as though it is aflame!"

"Hiloadyoud," he replied.

Starfire pulled her hand away from his forehead. When she looked down it, she wrinkled her nose. "You are also sweating profusely."

"Hiloadyoud."

"Robin, you are ill." She stood up, an authoritative finality in her voice. "You require medical assistance."

Robin shook his head, working hard to find his words. "No...I..."

She started to float away but Robin took hold of her wrist. She stopped midflight to look at him curiously. With a gentle tug, he encouraged her to sit down with him once more. Though she looked very reluctant, Starfire took a seat with him.

"You must explain this behavior to me," she informed him simply.

Robin nodded with understanding. He took great care to draw in several deep breaths followed by controlled exhales. A technique Bruce taught him that he probably should have used long ago.

So much for his "prodigal son" reputation.

"Starfire," he began calmly. Except the second he thought about speaking his mind, his mind went blank and his body started to go into full on panic mood.  
Again.

"S-Starfire."

She lifted a quizzical eyebrow.

"I loooooo..." He cleared his throat. "I loooooowww... Is it hot? I'm hot. Are you hot?"

She shook her head.

Robin laughed nervously, tugging at his collar. "Heh. I'm hot."

"Robin," Starfire said, sounding exasperated.

"Sorry. It's just that I um. I'm in looooo... Why is it so hot?!"

"Robin!" she screamed.

"I love you!" he blurted out before slapping his hand over his mouth in surprise.

And there was a moment of silence.

"X'hal," she breathed.

Robin clutched his chest. "Oh my god."

"You love me?"

"It's so hot up here."

"Robin, you love me?"

"I'm going to have a heart attack."

"Literally?"

"Figuratively." He considered that for a moment. "I think."

They stared at each other in a stunned silence for a very long time. Eventually, Starfire reached out and wove her fingers between his. Her smile was shy and beautiful and it did things to Robin like make his head go numb which he should maybe worry about but he loved her so he couldn't find himself caring about his numb head.

"Tell me again, please," she asked, peeking up at him through her lashes.

He breathed deeply a few times. "I love...I love...I..." He exhaled one last time. "I love you, Starfire."

Her smile could have lit up the cosmos.

Then she did something he hadn't expected.

"I love you too."

His eyes widened. His heartbeat picked up. "What?"

Her smile was so brilliant. "I too love you."

And when Robin had a panic attack in response to her confession, she had no one to blame but herself.

**XXXXX**

**And here's the preview for the next chapter: **

_Kissing her was fun. He liked feeling her body melted against his and her fingers in his hair and her teeth gently biting down on his bottom lip and hearing his named mixed in with Tameranean words of endearment. _

_There was only one thing he didn't like. _


	5. Height

**Man, you all have been really kind. I appreciate the words of encouragement. You've said some very kind and supportive and I can't say thank you enough. **

**So happy Thanksgiving! Hope you're having a great time and enjoy this little drabble.**

**XXXXX**

There were so many things about kissing Starfire Robin liked.

For one, there was the way she sort of just MELTED into him. Her whole body relaxed so thoroughly against his. It made him feel like she was truly enjoying herself and very dedicated to kissing him, which was always nice.

And then there was the way she kissed. He remember their first kiss, back when she was kicking cars at him. Her grip was hard and her mouth demanding and no nonsense. Not like he could have protested or anything because he was far too surprised by her sudden display of what can very loosely be described as affection, but the way she kissed him left very little room for debate.

Now, it was different yet exactly the same.

Sure, the kisses were softer. She wasn't kicking cars at him or shoving him away anymore (thank goodness). But the way she moved her lips against his, softly and then more aggressively beckoned him to stay. There still was no room for debate when her mouth was on his.  
He always wanted more. Would rather suffocate from lack of oxygen than lack of Starfire by pulling away from her for one second.

And then there was the way she held him. Always loose. That surprised him, what with the way she hugged him tight enough to cut off oxygen or to bruise a rib (both had happened to him in the past).

But when kissed him, her hold was feather light. Her fingers just barely clutching his shoulders or running down his arm or back gently enough to cause goosebumps. She'd tease her fingers through his hair. He'd feel the tips of her fingers on his face. The way she held him made him want more. To feel her arms around him.

He wanted to be engulfed by her. Tangled in her limbs and that's exactly what she would not do. He swore she did it to him on purpose. Which was fine. He was happy to be the one to pull her as close as possibly and hold her tight.

Another thing about kissing her he liked was when she grew bold.

She PURRED.

It made sense. She was some kind of alien cat descendant or whatever. But still. She PURRED and it drove him crazy and he loved it.

And if Starfire started purring that meant things were gonna get good. Purring meant that she would probably start nibbling on his lip soon. And then her hands would get bold and slide under his uniform and start touching and caressing and exploring his torso.

He didn't know until then that his girlfriend was so fond of his upper body but he could not find himself minding at all.

If she was touching his chest, that meant she was a step away from murmuring Tameranean words into his ear.

Never before had her native tongue sounded so enthralling.

He never knew what she was saying. It all just rushed out lightning fast. Whatever she was saying, it sounded affectionate and intimate. And it made Robin feel a sense of male smugness that she liked the way he kissed her neck and ran his hands over her body so much that she gave up on English entirely.

Kissing her was fun. He liked feeling her body melted against his and her fingers in his hair and her teeth gently biting down on his bottom lip and hearing his name mixed in with Tameranean words of endearment.

The only thing he didn't like was how when they were standing, he had to stand tiptoe to kiss his own girlfriend.

That he could live without.

**XXXXX**

**And here's your preview:**

_"What is wrong?" she asked, tilting her head._

_ It took a few moments, but Robin managed to finally speak up. "Your uh, hair."_

_ "What about it?"_

_"It's on fire," Raven responded._

_Starfire glanced down at the ends of her hair. The tresses were still burning but it was dimming and was isolated to just the tips of her hair. She giggled, lifting up a still flaming strand. "Oh, so it is."_


	6. Hair

**So over the past couple of days, a lot of you have been favoriting/following this story (and reviewing of course). I notice it and deeply appreciate it. Some of your words have been so encouraging! About the story and in regards to my recent struggles with writing. Just wanted to say I notice it and I very sincerely thank you. **

**XXXXX**

The fact of the matter was the Teen Titans were changing. Technically, Cyborg was not a teen anymore and Robin was not far behind him.

Things changed. And though the Boy Wonder (who really was a little too grown to be known as a "boy" at this point [at least he insisted he was] ) was not sure how these changes would affect the team, he was not concerned. Change was good. Growth needed to happen.

Like with Cyborg. No longer was he quite so hot headed. Not so quick to jump down Robin's throat over an order he didn't like. He took time to consider it before retorting calmly (if not still a little cockily). In turn, Robin was willing to ignore his own stubborn streak and hear him out. Lately, the two Titans had been bumping heads less and working together more. It was…refreshing. Robin needed someone to question him from time to time, anyway.

And in regards to his personal life, Cyborg had met someone. Sarah. He was nervous to admit that he was caring for someone intimately and Robin was surprised when Cyborg brought her to the Tower to meet the Titans. However, his surprise did not diminish the fact he liked the girl and was happy to see Cyborg happy.

And Raven. It would be downright ridiculous to say she was like…happy or something even vaguely perky. In fact, if Raven had even the slightest idea that Robin even considered thinking that she was something even similar to happy, she'd probably melt his brain or something terrifying like that. But Robin would venture to say that she was willing to show a little more emotion than just her perpetual state of neutral. Small smiles tugged at the corners of her lips sometimes. She laughed every once and awhile. Sometimes, when she needed a shoulder to cry on or god forbid, a hug, she said so. And Robin could not help but notice that her hair was growing a little longer than her usual severe chin-length bob. He was happy for her.

He just wouldn't say it out loud.

Then there was Beast Boy. He still was a prankster. Still told terrible jokes. He and Cyborg _still freaking _fought about what they would have for breakfast (even though in the end they _always _just compromised and made both their choices but they still fought about it and it gave Robin such a headache, his face went numb and he started narrating his thoughts in run on sentences) but he had grown a little. Robin was certain that no matter what, Beast Boy would be a prankster and a bit of a kid at heart through and through. But after growing up some and with everything that happened with the Brotherhood, the changeling came out of it a new man.

He worked harder in training sessions. Seemed more dedicated to becoming the hero he knew he could be. Took care to time his jokes and pranks appropriately so that he didn't provoke his teammates' ire too terribly much. And Robin could not help but notice that he was going out of his way to spend more time with Raven. Even more interestingly, Raven while she did not necessarily accept his advances, she didn't deny them.

Robin didn't even want to think about that too hard. If what he thought was happening was actually happening, it was a face numbing headache that he would face only when he had to face it.

And then there was him.

Unfortunately, he was still short.

Starfire had insisted that in the future, Nightwing was taller than her. Assuming she wasn't just saying that to stop him from pouting, Robin decided he would begrudgingly wait for his supposed growth spurt to happen.

Not like he really had a choice to do otherwise.

Besides his height issues, he was struggling with his sense of identity. So much of his life was spent in the shadows. Brooding. Darkness. The son of the Dark Knight. And Robin accepted that he would always be a part of the darkness. That's what kind of man he was. He didn't mind. He was fond of the darkness in his heart.

But he didn't want it to consume him.

That's what Starfire had been so afraid of all these years. All of his teammates feared that. But now he understood. Now Robin saw Bruce. He was finally _really _seeing Bruce. The man who stopped being a boy that horrible night in an alley so many years ago. The man who found it hard to love and made it difficult to love him in turn. Robin both admired and was concerned by his father's dedication. He respected it.

But he did not want that for himself. Maybe he did a few years ago. But not anymore. He didn't want to be like Bruce, who couldn't let someone he loved into his heart. He didn't want to be the same Boy Wonder who had run off to Jump to prove the Bat he was worthy of the Robin uniform.

He didn't think he really wanted to be Robin anymore.

And thus, his transition into Nightwing began.

He was designing the uniform in his limited free time. He asked Starfire if she was willing to help him with the design, what with her already knowing what the final product would be but she refused. Which was annoying. But whatever. He wouldn't don the new uniform until he finally gained some height so he had time.

But finally, there was Starfire. She was changing too.

She was still a gentle soul. Still happy. But she no longer was as naive as she was when she first crash landed on Earth. Robin feared that would change her in a way he would not like but to his surprise, it did not. She knew of the bad things and the "entrances and exits" of Earthen culture for better or worse. And she accepted it and chose to not dwell on it and focus on the things she loved and made her happy.

It was one of the many reasons Robin loved her so much.

She also had a new air of regality to her. As if the warrior princess in her was finally making herself known. Robin would not venture to say she was haughty. But there was a lift in her chin that showed a new confidence in his girlfriend. As if she had finally acquired her Earth feet.

Robin liked to think he played a part in that.

There was one other thing about the alien princess that had changed.

Sometimes, the ends of her hair caught fire.

The first time he noticed it was when she was flying into a particularly heated battle with Cinderblock. Her eyes were aglow and starblots lit up both her closed fists. She flew to the enemy with all of her warrior heart and the tips of her hair started glowing. Robin and the other Titans watched dumbfounded as she fought the rock monster, her hair growing fiery with her every hit. Soon enough, the sky was lit of with the trail of flames her ruby locks left in her wake. It was only after Cinderblock had hit the ground in defeat and Starfire landed primly beside him did she notice the look her teammates were giving her.

"Please, what is wrong?" she asked, tilting her head.

It took a few moments, but Robin managed to finally speak up. "Your uh, hair."

"What about it?"

"It's on fire," Raven responded.

Starfire glanced down at her hair. The tresses were still burning but it was dimming and was isolated to just the tips. She giggled, lifting up a still flaming strand. "Oh, so it is."

The other four heroes glanced at each other. Raven spoke up again. "Is that…normal?"

Starfire nodded cheerily. "Oh, yes. As Tameraneans mature, it is not uncommon for a warrior's hair to glow with the fire that burns deep within their heart." She said it so empathically, of course.

There was another beat of silence.

"So it like…burns when you fight?" Beast Boy asked.

"Or whenever I feel particularly passionate about something." She shrugged. "I suppose that it could mostly apply to the kicking of the butt. There have been instances of it happening whenever a warrior is filled with unbridled joy and delight, however."

Silence stretched.

"Badass," Cyborg finally replied.

The rest of the team nodded in agreement. It was indeed quite badass.

Robin loved it. He already loved her hair so much. He had a bit of a weakness for red heads and he so loved Starfire's hair. He loved how she fiddled with it when she was coy or nervous. And how when she was leaning over him in his bed, it fell around them like a curtain and covered them both. He liked how it looked spread out on his pillows. He liked to run his fingers through it when he kissed her.

And now when she fought, it burned with a fire that matched the one in her heart. There was a dangerous beauty in his ruthless, burning princess that he couldn't help but admire. He loved her hair. It was a welcome change.

So, yeah. The Titans were changing. Maturity and mentality wise, mostly. But with Starfire, the change was very apparent. There was no way to _not_ notice her burning hair.

This would prove to be a problem.

Robin did not think it would be a problem. Not until the fire alarm went off in his room late one night. Not until Raven, Cyborg, and Beast Boy broke into his room with a fire extinguisher. Not until he and Starfire sat shame faced on the Ops Room couch. His cape was off, his tunic wrinkled, and mask askew. Her hair was disarrayed, her neck brace missing, and she wore only one of her boots.

Not until he and Starfire had to explain how Robin's bed managed to somehow catch on fire.

Eventually, the other three Titans just shook their heads at the couple. Truthfully, they already knew the answer. An explanation was not needed.

Unbridled joy and delight, indeed….

**XXXXX**

**And here's your preview:**

_But there were few doors in the Tower that could be slammed. Which sucked, because when Robin turned his back on Starfire and marched angrily into his room, there was nothing satisfying about the quiet "whoosh" the door made when it closed in her face. _


	7. Sorry

There were a lot of nice things about the automatic sliding doors in the Titan's Tower.

What was not nice was the inability to slam them.

Robin had no shame in admitting he liked slamming doors. There were few immature qualities he had and he did not often like to throw something resembling a tantrum, but he always felt just a little better after slamming a door.

Plus, Bruce hated it. It was always a plus when he got to annoy his Bat-dad every now and then.

But there were few doors in the Tower that could be slammed. Which sucked, because when Robin turned his back on Starfire and marched angrily into his room, there was nothing satisfying about the quiet "whoosh" the door made when it closed in her face.

XXXXX

Eventually, he calmed down. But he was still mad. He had, not long after he shut the door in Starfire's face, headed to the gym. There may not have been a door to slam but there was always a punching bag.

And oh, Robin punched.

He was merciless. He was mad. He was livid. He kicked. He punched. He indulged in profanity that would have made Alfred blush.

He saw her. On his way to the gym. He passed right by her in the hall. When she saw him, she lifted her chin, crossed her arms, and huffed. She was trying to get a reaction.

He did not give it to her.

He stalked past her and did not look back. He did not care to see her reaction. He didn't care period.

He was mad.

He punched.

It made him feel a little better.

He was sure she expected him to break first. To apologize. Like he had when they were stranded. Or any other time he messed up. It's just how things were.

She huffed and held her chin high and made him jump through hoops and he said he was sorry.

Not this time.

He would not go to her first. He had nothing to apologize for. And he didn't feel like jumping through any hoops.

Hence the reason he walked right by her in the hall.

And eventually, she came to him.

"I wish to speak with you," she announced with an annoying air of regality. The door closed quietly behind her.

He kicked the bag. "So speak."

Robin swore he could hear her grit her teeth. "I wish to know why you have yet to apologize to me."

He punched then grunted. "Apologize for what?"

"You know of what I speak."

He paused his assault on the punching bag. "I know what you're talking about but I don't see the need to apologize." And then he went back to punching.

Starfire bristled. He thought he saw the tips of her hair glowing. "You should have informed me," she replied cooly.

"Informed you of what?"

"You know."

And suddenly, the punching bag was not enough to help soothe his ire. "You know what, Star? I don't know." He closed his eyes and reminded himself to control his temper. That even though he was mad at her, he did not want to blow up at Starfire. He cared about her too much to do that, even if she was being irritating right now. "So please explain it to me."

"I wish you would stop with the bag of punching and give me your full attention."

He punched the bag one last time. Hard enough to make it swing so far, Starfire had to take a cautious step back. Then he stomped over to face her, his aching fists clenched.

"Fine. Are you happy? You have my full attention, princess. What?"

"Why was not informed of her?"

"Is it my job to inform you of every person that I know that could potentially stop in to see me?" he snapped irritably.

"As your girl that is your friend, I do not find that unreasonable."

"It is."

"Why?"

"Why what, Starfire?"

"Why is it unreasonable, Robin?"

He exhaled loudly. "You're my girlfriend, not my keeper. I shouldn't have to report to you."

"I would have liked to have known that she was coming!"

God, he wanted to go back to punching the bag again.

"And if I knew she was coming, I'd have told you." He rolled his eyes behind his mask. "That's Batgirl, Star. Impulsive. She just...shows up sometimes."

"Well why did she decide to make an appearance now?"

"How should I know?"

"You seemed to know the Batgirl quite well."

Robin's eyes narrowed as he let her implication sink in. "Excuse me?"

Starfire shrugged airily, suddenly fascinated with some dirt beneath her nail.

"What is that supposed to mean?" he pushed.

"Only that you two seemed quite...familiar with one another."

"You have got to be-"

"The way she embraced you!" Starfire cut off, her cool facade finally breaking. "She held you for so long! And you! You returned her embrace!"

"She's my friend, Starfire," he exclaimed, to exasperated to be more annoyed.

"She..." Her voice trailed off. She chewed her lip for a moment before she spoke again. She sounded…smaller this time. "She called you Richard. She also knows your name."

Robin gentled upon hearing that. "Yeah. But Star, she knew me before I was Robin. When I was only Richard."

"I wish I could have known you as Richard." She still sounded sad but some bitterness had crept into her voice.

"That was a different life, Star," he explained, exasperated all over again.

"One you shared with her." Her tone had grown angry once more.

Again , he rolled his eyes. That vein in his forehead began to throb. "Not just her, Starfire."

"But she was apart of it!" The cool façade she had been putting on faded. Her eyes were wide and full of emotion. A weird mix of sadness and frustration and something akin to but not quite desperation. Like she very much wanted him to understand what she was trying to making him understand what she was saying. No matter how ridiculous it may or may not have been. "She was a part of a life you had that I scarcely know of! And until this day, I did not even know of her existence!"

"You're jealous," he hissed.

"Of the most attractive red head who embraces you for long periods of time and calls you Richard and with whom you share a history I was unaware of with? Yes! I most certainly am!"

"Well, get over it."

"It is unfair! You have a life I hardly know of! I assume you had, at some point in time, some form of romantic feelings for the Batgirl, yes?"

"Seriously? Are you really doing this?"

"Did you not?" she demanded testily.

"Fine. Honestly?" He glared at her. "I did. Back when I was like, thirteen, I had a crush on her and maybe she had one on me. And you know what? Nothing came of it, Starfire. So why are you acting like this?"

"Because you had this whole other life! Feelings for someone else at some time and you failed to speak of it with me!"

Before he knew what he was doing, Robin was swinging his leg around. He had reached his breaking point with this fight. When his foot connected with the punching bag once more, it broke free of the chain that kept it tethered to the ceiling, crashing violently on the opposite side of the gym.

"Okay, Star. Listen." He breathed deeply, pinching the bridge of his nose. That vein in his head was still throbbing. This could not have been good for his blood pressure. Alfred would be pissed. "You had a whole other life too. One you failed to mention to me too."

"What do you speak-"

"Princess," he interrupted. "That was a major one. Didn't even find that out until we landed on Tameran for your wedding."

At that, Star clamped her mouth shut angrily. But Robin was far from finished.

"Or how about the fact you had a sister?"

"But-"

"And about me not telling you my crush on Batgirl. When were you gonna mention the one you had on Aqualad?"

"How did you-"

"Double standards, Starfire."

"Robin, I-"

"It's not like her existence is a secret, either. I cannot count the number of newspapers with her in it. Her working alone. Her with me. Her with Batman. God, I think there's even one with her and Supergirl. So it's no deep dark secret." He threw his arms up in the air, the only way to express how…ugh he felt. "They call us a 'Bat-family' and she is very much a part of it. Everyone knows."

Finally, Starfire had no response. She at least had the sense to look abashed. And Robin's tone gentled.

"Batgirl is my FRIEND, Starfire. And I don't appreciate getting a guilt trip for a hugging a friend I haven't seen in god knows how long. That's not how relationships work. We don't answer to each other like that. Information...my past...our past is earned. Not demanded."

Robin headed for the exit. But he paused to look at his girlfriend, who stood by the place where a punching bag once hung, looking absolutely lost.

"It isn't my fault she was a part of my past and you weren't, Starfire. But I thought you'd be happy being apart of my future," he finished.

And when the door closed behind him, he wished he could have slammed it.  
XXXXX

There was a knock at his door an hour or so later. Robin pressed the button so it could slide open. He was far from surprised to see Starfire standing there.  
But it was different now.

She looked apologetic. And sad. Her shoulders were slumped and her eyes were bright with unshed tears.

And Robin was tired. Being angry at Starfire was not something he was good at. Between his anger and the ruined punching bag and the fight, he had used up all the anger he could muster up for her. It was too hard to stay mad. Too much energy. Too much work.

And honestly, he didn't want to be angry anymore.

"I believe I owe you a most sincere apology," she whispered.

Robin took hold of her shoulders and pulled her to him in a way that left no room for disagreement. And Starfire collapsed into his hold willingly and eagerly, wrapping her arms around his hips tightly. He held her back and hugged her with deliberate care.

"It's okay," he murmured into her hair.

"I was quite unreasonable."

"It's okay."

"You are owed my sincerest apologies, Robin."

He pulled just far enough out of the hug to look up at Starfire. He gripped her chin softly between his fingers.

"I could have been more understanding." He offered her his own apologetic look. "I know it's not always easy dealing with me. It must be hard putting up with someone who is so reluctant to talk about his past or personal life."

"There was no justification in my envious behavior, difficulties or not."

"It has to be frustrating. And when Batgirl showed up..." He winced at the thought of how Starfire must have felt. "I'm sorry too."

"It is the okay, Richard." She managed to give him a tiny smile. "And you were correct in pointing out the double standard in our relationship and hypocrisy in my behavior."

Robin shrugged this time. "Yeah, well..."

"Apologies, my love."

He hugged her again. "It's okay."

"Okay."

When his door closed this time, Robin had no desire to slam it. And this time, he and Starfire were on the same side of it, which was really how things were supposed to be anyway.

**XXXXX**

**Just a quick authors note: I wrote this chapter because 1) we need a good Robin/Star fight and 2) I read so many stories about Robin and Starfire fighting but most of the time, it's Robin's fault and he's the one who has to apologize. Even when Starfire is being the unreasonable one/just as guilty as Robin, it's skimmed over often in favor of making Robin the "bad guy."**

**Well, I didn't want a bad guy. I did want Starfire to shoulder a lot of the fault, but Robin had his flaws too. I wanted both of them to be a little guilty of something. **

**On another note, thanks for all the reviews. And if you didn't review, thanks for favoriting/following the story. I appreciate the kind words and support, and for those of you who followed me from my X-Men Evo stories, I really appreicate your understanding and patience. I'll try not to disappoint. **

**...except that I'm about to disappoint you right now by telling you that I don't have a preview for the next chapter because it isn't typed up yet. Finals week. But I'll try to update soon! I can say that either the next chapter or the one after that will definitely feature Robin's Bat-daddy. **

**Toodles til then!**


	8. Harley

**I think this is my favorite chapter so far. I would really love any feedback on it. Thanks!**

**XXXXX**

This was bad.

This was really bad.

Robin could not begin to even comprehend how bad this situation was.

To begin with: he had been kidnapped. Being kidnapped was never ever a good thing. It wasn't like he was worried he wouldn't escape or be rescued. Robin figured he'd come out this okay.

He just didn't want to have to be rescued. He had an image to uphold.

Plus, being kidnapped was really annoying. It ate up so much of his time that could be better spent on pretty much anything other than being tied to a chair or whatever.

And villains tended to talk. Blah blah finally got you where I want you. Blah blah here is my evil plan. Blah blah say goodbye, Boy Blunder blah.

He'd heard it all.

And while their incessant talking usually provided time to escape/be rescued, it was still annoying.

Secondly: it was who had captured Robin.

Harley Quinn.

Not good.

The thing about Harley was, while very potentially dangerous, she was not overly unbalanced unless the Joker was involved.

Or if she was trying to impress her beloved Mr. J. Which is why she had kidnapped Robin.

Currently, the Boy Wonder was being held upside down but what he could only assume was a _copious_ amount of pantyhose over what he believed to be a mock-bird bath filled with acid.

He rolled his eyes behind his mask.

Harley was pacing before him, explaining her plan.

"Mr. J sure gets awfully mad if I try to kill your Bat-Daddy myself," she was saying.

Robin merely lifted an eyebrow.

"There was an incident with me, B-Man, and a tank of piranha," she explained as an answer to his unasked question. "I had to learn the hard way."

"Uh-huh," Robin deadpanned.

Harley tapped her chin thoughtfully. "But ya know what I realized, bird boy?"

"What."

"I don't have to kill the Bat." She grinned broadly, spinning around elegantly. It was a beautiful, elegant display that contrasted starkly with her obvious psychosis. "I can just break him emotionally."

"Uh-huh."

"Do ya know how I'll do that?"

"Enlighten me."

"By killing his favorite pet bird, of course."

"Of course."

Harley threw him an almost apologetic look, closing some distance between them. Robin's eyebrow rose back up. "Sorry it has to end this way, birdie." She reached up to pat his cheek. "It's been such a long time since you 'n' me have done this song and dance. Ever since ya moved away. Hate for things to end this way after so long apart."

"Didn't know you cared."

Harley smiled at him. "It's almost like I got t' watch ya grow up." Her smile dropped into something of a mock frown. "Shame I have t' kill ya now."

"Yeah. Shame."

She gave his cheek one last pat before turning her back to him, hands on her hips. She adopted a sort of whimsical, reminiscent tone. "Gosh, I remember when you first started Robining. Now look at ya." She glanced at him over her shoulder. "All grown up. I bet ya woulda made some lucky girl proud."

And that was the third problem: Starfire.

Harley had made the mistake of staging her kidnapping while the Titans were out for pizza. In broad daylight, she managed to subdue all five them (something Robin was far from pleased about) and then dragged Robin away from them.

Right in front of Starfire.

Harley had no clue what an angry Tameranean would do after her boyfriend was kidnapped, but Robin had a pretty good idea. Part of him was intrigued. Mostly though, he was rather concerned for the outcome. Harley annoyed him as much as every other villain, but he didn't want to see her disintegrated by a starbolt.

"Oh well," said villainous declared with a shrug of her shoulders. She glided over to the lever that would lower Robin to his bird pun related death. "Ya know what they say? C'est la vie, bird brain."

Agonizingly slow, Harley began to turn the lever, humming some annoying tune that would probably be stuck in head for the next several days. Robin watched patiently as he grew nearer and near to the acid bird bath, hoping that his rescuers would show up before his spiky hair touched any of it.

Robin would be quite angry if his hair was messed up in this whole debacle.

But his hair was not his biggest concern. Nor was the fact he had been kidnapped. Nor was the fact he would have the song Harley was humming stuck in his head for only god knew how long. Not even the fact his girlfriend would probably fry Harley to a crisp.

Oh no.

Those meant nothing next to his real problem.

Robin had been held captive plenty of times. But always by _his _bad guys in _his _town. Making it _his _problem. _His _jurisdiction.

Harley Quinn was most certainly not _his _bad guy. She had taken the game off her home field.

Which meant _he _would be coming for her.

She was, after all, _his _bad guy. And she had kidnapped _his _son.

Nothing about this was going to end well.

Which brings us back to Robin's original statement:

This was bad.

He watched, waiting for the you know what to hit the fan. While he waited, he grew nearer and nearer to Harley's acid. He heard his cape touch come into contact with it. He could smell the fabric burning. He could _hear _it burning. Idly, he wondered what kind of acid she was using and where she managed to get it from.

Mentally, Robin shrugged. Problems he would ponder at a later time.

He listened to the sound of his cape burn away. Moments before his longest spike would have touched the acid, the lights went out. He closed his masked eyes and sent a little prayer heavenward. It wasn't like the Titans to cut lights. Which meant it could only be _him_.

Of course _he_ would wait for the last second to save his beloved sidekick. _He_ was one for a dramatic flair, after all.

Robin could not see, but he could listen to what was going on. Sound alone painted a very clear picture. Right after the lights went out, a wall somewhere in the building crumbled under what he was certain was a powerful blast from Cyborg's sonic cannon. Then there was a quiet swish through the air he knew all too well.

"Owwie!" Harley yelped, withdrawing her hand from the lever. The same batarang that struck her hand spun around and cut through the pantyhose that kept Robin suspended.

He dropped.

And then he was caught in the arms of what could only be described by a purple, green, and orange blur before he could plummet the last few inches to his pun-filled death. The impact was hard enough to knock the wind out of him, but her hold was intimate and gentle. He was laid down on the floor where, breathless or not, he was able to break free of the remaining pantyhose.

His alien savior did not stick around to see if he was okay.

He watched as a fiery trail hurled green light energy at Harley, screaming a warrior's scream. Harley, graceful as ever, made quick work of dodging her attack with a series of twirls and backflips that Robin honestly could not help but admire.

Graceful or not, Harley was struggling to evade not only his girlfriend's furious attacks but ones coming from the other three Titans as well. It distracted her from the biggest issue in the room.

Her distraction was all _he _needed.

Harley never saw it. Robin was pretty sure the other Titans didn't either. In fact, Robin was probably the only one who saw the living shadow stalk up to the woman soundlessly, eyes narrowed and mouth in a dangerously thin line. It was not until a bat-eared shadow passed over her did Harley realize what was happening.

By then it was too late.

All Robin heard was an "epp." Then silence.

He tilted his head, somewhat surprised at how quickly it was over. His assistance wasn't even needed in this one. Which was kind of nice, what with him having been kidnapped and all. He wanted to take it easy physically.

He had a bigger headache in store, anyway.

"Robin!"

The purple, green, and orange blur was back. This time she was wrapping her arms around him, her face buried in his chest. It knocked the wind out of him _again _but he didn't mind this time. He managed to smile, returning her hug. He ran a hand over her hair, careful to avoid the still fading flames.

"I am most thrilled to see that you are unharmed!"

He tried to chuckle but found he was still too breathless for that. It took a cough or two before Robin was able to speak up. "Heh. Yeah, I'm fine. I knew you'd come."

"This Harlequin, did she do any harm to you?" Starfire lifted her head long enough to look back at said villainous. She was currently strung up upside in _his _signature style. Uninterested in that, Starfire looked back at Robin with large eyes. "She is most dangerous, is she not?" Her eyes narrowed dangerously, glowing a predatory green. "If she has, I shall be most angry."

"Calm down, princess." He smoothed the bangs from her forehead so he could press a lingering kiss there. At that, her eyes dimmed. "I'm fine. I knew you'd get me."

"Of course! I would be distraught if something terrible were to become of my love!"

"Well, don't worry cause—"

He was cut off by her pressing her mouth to his, ending any chance of him speaking or even being able to formulate the thought needed for speech. He stood dumbfounded for a moment before relaxing, wrapping his arms around her.

Kissing Starfire was fun.

In the distance, he vaguely heard the sound of his teammates groaning.

"Dude," Beast Boy moaned, sounding perfectly disgusted with the whole display of affection.

The room grew silent suddenly. Too silent. A silence Robin recognized to be the product of both awe and fear. As if every person in the room was afraid to breathe and was taking a careful step backward.

Oh right. _He _was here.

"Duuuuuuuuude," Beast Boy whispered again, obviously shocked this time.

But by then it was too late. Because _he _had already soundlessly appeared in front of the kissing couple. And it was not until a bat-eared shadow was looming over them did Robin remember that this was totally, definitely not good.

This was bad.

With effort, he detached his lips from Starfire's, gently pushing her away. "Uh...Star…."

She tilted her head at him, confused.

He pointed behind her.

She glanced over at her shoulder to see what Robin was talking about. When she saw, she let out what could only be described as a small scream before hiding behind Robin's back. Which honestly was kind of silly. He was shorter than she was; there was no way he could hide her.

Not like there was any hiding from the Batman though.

"Uh." He coughed nervously, looking up into the always frowning face of the Bat. "Hey, Br—Batman. Uh." With a great amount of effort, he forced Starfire from behind his back to stand beside him. "This is, uh, Starfire."

Batman was silent.

"She's my uh…." Robin made peace with god. "She's my girlfriend."

Batman only narrowed his eyes.

**XXXXX**

**To be continued...**


	9. Bat

**Prepare yourselves for excessive use of the word "bat."**

**XXXXX**

His door opening is what roused him from his half-asleep state. He opened up his eyes far enough to see Starfire float in. She smiled at him fondly, closing his bedroom door behind her. She was in her pajamas now, hair up in a ponytail.

Robin had changed too, now in sweat pants and without a mask. He used to wear a shirt, but whenever Starfire slept over, it always seemed to disappear. So he just stopped wearing one.

"Greetings," she murmured.

He smiled at her groggily. "Hey, Star."

"You are tired, yes?"

He only nodded. She slid into bed next to him, curling up at his side. Robin slipped an arm around her.

"You had a most tiring day," she went on.

"Being kidnapped takes a lot out of you," Robin acknowledged.

"But this Harley Quinn woman, she did not harm you?"

He smiled at her. "The worst she did was ruin my cape."

She smiled back at him. "I am glad. I like you when you are in good health."

"I like me in good health too," he chuckled. He dipped his head down to capture her lips in a lingering kiss. It was soft and unrushed and what he needed after everything that happened today.

Starfire withdrew after a long moment. Her eyes were worried now, brows furrowed.

Robin slid his fingers through her ponytail. "What's wrong, Star?"

"We still have the, er...Batman delimea."

Robin groaned at that. He let his head flop back on his pillow. "Don't remind me."

"He did not seem...pleased to hear the news of our relationship."

To be exact, Bruce had given them a Bat-glare to end all Bat-glares for what felt like an eternity. Eventually, he reached for his belt.

"The authorities are already on their way." He shot his grappling hook to the ceiling. "I trust that you will be able to handle Quinn now without trouble."

Robin and Starfire looked back at the upside down, barely conscious villainess.

"Um, yeah," Robin said. "I think so."

Starfire ventured to speak up. "I thank you for your assistance is rescuing Robin. We could not have done it without you."

"I'm aware of that."

Robin winced and Starfure shrank back. The sound of police sirens pulled their attention away from Batman. When they looked back, he was gone.

Robin really hated when Bruce did that.

So yeah. Bruce had not been "pleased" to say the least.

"Don't worry, Star. I think I have an idea on what to do about that."

"Thank X'hal."

XXXXX

After many years of Batmaning, Bruce could tell from the moment he stepped into any room if something was not quite right. It was as if after so much time, he had developed a sixth sense.

A bat-sense if you will.

Bruce always trusted his bat-sense. It had saved his bat-life on many occasions.

So when he arrived in the Batcave after a long night of Batmanning, he exited the Batmobile slowly, bat senses tuned in for any clue about why his bat-sanctuary felt...not right.

Someone was here.

Truthfully, he was in no mood for this. He'd had a long night patrolling the streets. He had been hit with a crow bar, which was annoying. He nearly broke his hand (again) on some thugs face and he was hungry. He had been looking forward to ending his long day by eating, doing a little bit of brooding, and getting a little bit of sleep. Now there was someone here in his Batcave. Which was his place.

This was a serious invasion of his privacy and he was not in the bat-mood for it.

He tried to determine who it was.

Joker? No. He was still (somehow, miraculously, but probably temporarily) locked up in Arkham.

Quinn? He doubted it. Gordon was still have a hell of a time getting her out of Jump City's custody and back to Arkham where she belonged (and would probably escape from).

This certainly didn't fit the Penguin's M.O.. Two-Face maybe but he doubted. Maybe one of his more obscure villains?

Killer Moth? Calendar Man?

Bruce decided there was no way to know without facing the intruder head on. He pulled out a batarang and slowed his steps.

He could hear a voice. Definitely a woman's. Not Quinn. Didn't fit Ivy's M.O. either. Not Selina. But familiar somehow. The woman was talking. It didn't sound like the ramblings of someone who was mentally unbalanced talking to herself.

She was talking to someone else.

Great. So there were at least two people in his Batcave.

Bruce weighed his bat-options. Two or more intruders. They had caught him off his bat-guard but seemed to be unaware if his presence, giving him a small window to gather his bat-bearings. He also had a home field (home cave?) advantage. However, he did not know what sort of weapons they had.

He had faced worse, but he didn't like it. Then he heard a third voice. This one he recognized instantly.

It was Alfred.

And now, while his beloved butler was usually too British to emote much of anything, he would have sounded more concerned than his typical sarcastic tone if it were something to worry about.

Completely stumped, Bruce decided to just come around the corner and see who was here.

He laid eyes on Dick, in his Robin uniform, looking very much at home sitting in Bruce's bat-chair. Alfred stood near by, looking his usual politely indifferent. While surprising, this would not normally be cause for concern. But flying above them both was Starfire.

She was in. His. Cave.

Dick had brought her here.

He could feel that vein in his forehead beginning to throb.

"Are there many coins of this size?" the alien was asking, floating around his giant penny.

Dick only smiled up at her fondly. Alfred answered. "I am afraid not."

"Is the Batman a collector of over-sized currency?" She looked down at Alfred.

"Oversized? No. Currency? Yes, madam."

Bruce glared.

When he did, every head in the room turned toward him.

That was the power of the bat-glare. You didn't need to see it for it to work.

Dick's smile faded in an instant as he jumped to his feet. The alien frowned, quickly planting her feet on the ground behind Dick.

Alfred merely lifted an eyebrow. Bruce ignored him.

"Uh...hey Br-I mean, Batman," his son greeted nervously.

Starfire waved shyly. "Greetings."

"Master Bruce, you have visitors," Alfred announced primly.

"Thank you, Alfred."

He stalked toward the young couple, trying to control his bat-temper. Starfire shrank back behind Dick, peeking up at Bruce with terrified green eyes. Dick looked at her, then Bruce. Seeing the fear in his girlfriend's face, his (former?) partner stood up straight. He lifted his chin and stared back at Bruce unwaveringly.

It was something he had always liked about Dick. How he had a backbone. How it was nice that Bruce had someone who wasn't afraid to stand up to him.

Even if it annoyed the living hell out of him that his bat glare didn't work on Dick very long, if at all.

"What is she doing here?" he growled, closing the distance between himself and the teens.

"I brought her here."

Bruce's eyes narrowed. "Why," he barked, his question more of a demand than an inquiry. His voice echoed through the cave. Starfire flinched.

"To meet you." Dick crossed his arms in front of his best defiantly. "Since you left before we had a chance to talk the other night."

Instead of replying, Bruce let the silence stretch. People feared him, but he had discovered rather quickly that saying nothing scared them more than he could. Silence gave them time to stew. Silence gave them time to wonder. Silence gave them time to imagine something far worse than anything Batman would be ever do.

Silence was devastating.

And on Starfire, it seemed to work. But Dick only frowned heavily. Alfred rolled his eyes.

To his surprise, the alien was the one to end the silence.

"Please." She gestured over to his computer. A greasy bag sat among his empty coffee cups. "We have brought you meat and cheese and many other delicious foods wrapped in a tortilla."

Bruce stared at the girl, but arched an eyebrow. Dick coughed nervously.

"Burritos," he explained. "We brought burritos."

Starfire offered him a very small smile. "Robin tells me they are your favorite."

He stared to glare but the sound of his stomach growling betrayed any of his anger.

"Wonderful," Alfred announced, sounding as if the situation were anything but. "I'll get the champagne."

XXXXX

They didn't have champagne. Just water.

He and Dick did. The alien girl requested mustard and a straw. Even Alfred gave pause but did as requested.

Now that sat in the Batcave at a table. Bruce went ahead and took off his gloves, cape, and cowl (since the girl already knew where he lived, there wasn't much left of his secret identity). Dick had taken his mask off too.

And they were eating burritos. In total silence.

The thing most people did not know about Bruce Wayne was that rarely did he try to be such an unreasonable hard ass. Especially in regards to Dick. He loved his son (even if he rarely said it) and was proud of him. He liked that Dick was more accepting of love and did not want to be as lonely and locked away emotionally as his bat-father.

Maybe if things were normal and they were a normal family sitting down for a normal dinner to meet his son's normal girlfriend, everything would be fine.

But it was Batman, Robin, Robin's alien princess girlfriend. In the Batcave.

Eating burritos.

And while Bruce did not want to be a hard ass and he wanted to be happy for Dick, his brain would not make it that easy. His fighter, detective, and Batman mentality overpowered the parts of him that wanted to be happy.

This girl was a danger.

She knew who they were.

She was too powerful. Too strong.

Dick was not thinking clearly. You never could when feelings were in play.

He was compromising the dynamic of the team.

He had presented every villain with an obvious weakness they would very surely exploit.

Could this alien girl be trusted long term?

Dick's desire to maintain a life outside of Robin may have been good for his own personal reasons, but it made him weaker. He'd never fulfill his full potential.

And having a life outside of superheroing very rarely worked out as ideally as one would hope.

So yes. Bruce wanted to be happy. He wanted to not glare and be suspicious of Starfire.

But he couldn't. He literally could not. He trained himself perhaps too well to allow for that.

Dick would never know how sorry Bruce was for that.

XXXXX

"Your cave is most...err, fascinating," Starfire told him, forcing a smile.

Bruce stared at her. Her smile wavered but she trudged onward.

"It is most damp," she added cheerfully.

Beside her, Dick sighed. Realizing his son was growing irritable, Bruce attempted to be a little kinder to the girl.

"Thanks." He tried to smile. He quickly gave up on that endeavor. "I'm glad you like the...dampness."

Despite Bruce's small kindness, the girl beamed at him. As if he had just paid her a very high compliment.

"I welcome you," she responded cheerily.

This seemed to make Dick happy. Now everyone was smiling and it was giving him a headache.

He had no bat-patience for this.

"The tire on the Batmobile needs to be changed," he announced, his voice filled with a sort of finality that practically dared someone to defy him. He cast his steely blue eyes on Dick. "Change it."

He dropped his burrito. "Seriously? Are you really-"

"Now, Richard."

For a long moment, the two men sat across from each other, glaring. Starfire watched them nervously. Bruce was surprised how long Dick remained seated but he eventually got up.

"Which tire?" the teen wonder asked irritably.

Bruce set his gaze on Starfire but spoke to his son. "Figure it out. Go. Now. "

Dick stomped off, mumbling expletives that were just loud enough to hear. Bruce ignored him, focusing on the alien girl.

When Dick was out of ear shot, Starfire started to speak.

"I-" she began to say.

Bruce cut her off. "Don't talk. Just listen."

Her mouth closed.

"I don't like you. The only reason I have tolerated your presence in my home and place of work is because of the fondness Dick has for you. But make no mistake, that fondness is the only thing preventing me from removing you using every bit of information I know about Tameraneans."

He narrowed his eyes.

"And I have done my research, Koriand'r."

She gasped. "How did you-"

"If you have come here seeking my approval or blessing or friendship," he continued, "you are going to leave disappointed. Nothing about what you two are doing is smart and I will never approve. I will not give you my blessing. But I can offer you my apathy.

"If I wanted to, I could play on every one of Dick's concerns and doubts until he decided to end this ill-conceived romance. But I will not do that. Instead, I will grit my teeth and look the other way. For the sole purpose of keeping my son happy."

She tilted her head inquisitively. In the distance, Dick could be heard working on the Batmobile.

"I cannot change the way I feel about this even if I wanted to." Bruce did not add that he wanted to. Desperately. "But I will accept it. I will not manipulate his doubts until he gives in to what I want. I love my son. And he loves you. You make him happy in ways I had deprived him of and am unable to provide. I will ignore my own concerns so long as he continues to be happy. As long as you are making him happy."

Bruce's tone gentled without his consent. "It isn't much, but it's all I can give to him. You are not the only one who loves him. But I hope you can do a better job than I can."

Starfire stared him silently for a few seconds. And then she did the very last thing Bruce would have expected.

She smiled at him.

Right on time, Dick returned. "Tire is changed. Anything else? Want me to change the oil too?"

Bruce wondered where Dick got his sass from. Perhaps Alfred had rubbed off on him.

He stood up. "Thanks for the burrito but I have work to do. You know the way out."

His son's jaw dropped but the alien girl merely nodded and smiled politely.

"We thank you for your time."

Dick's mouth remained open. Bruce started to breeze past him but paused.

"You always had a thing for red heads," he whispered loud enough for only Dick to hear. He smirked, just a little. "Didn't you?"

XXXXX

"What did he say to you?" Robin asked Starfire for what felt like the millionth time after they got back to the tower.

"Nothing that you should worry over."

"Did he threaten you?"

"Not at all."

He threw his arms up in exasperation. "Then what?"

"He was honest with me."

"And?"

She smiled. "He is very kind in his own way." She cupped Robin's face in her hands, pressing a kiss to his mouth. "You remind me of him and that is not a bad thing. I quite like the Batman."

XXXXX

Sorry it took so long to update. Final exams and Cheistmas break and whatnot. It didn't help that my laptop is down for the time being and I had to type this on my iPhone. Apologies if it looks a little funny; I have no clue how it will look once I submit it to .

Just wanted to say I love your reviews and I'm delighted that you liked the last chapter. Hope this one was just as good. I'd say more but my thumbs hurt so I'll catch ya next time.


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